The present invention relates to a nuclear fuel bundle containing thorium as a nuclear fuel for use in a nuclear reactor.
Nuclear reactors generate energy from a nuclear chain reaction (i.e., nuclear fission) in which a free neutron is absorbed by the nucleus of a fissile atom in a nuclear fuel, such as Uranium-235 (235U). When the free neutron is absorbed, the fissile atom splits into lighter atoms and releases more free neutrons to be absorbed by other fissile atoms, resulting in a nuclear chain reaction, as is well understood in the art. Thermal energy released from the nuclear chain reaction is converted into electrical energy through a number of other processes also well known to those skilled in the art.